


All the Way Down

by cosmic_llin



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/F, Flying, Gen, Shore Leave, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 06:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3640044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_llin/pseuds/cosmic_llin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate and Deanna enjoy shore leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the Way Down

Deanna was already wearing a swimsuit and shorts with her hair in a long braid when she dropped by Sickbay, leaning into the office with a winning smile.

‘Kate?’ she asked. ‘Are you coming to the surface? You’ll regret it if you don’t - we won’t get general shore leave with a beach this nice for months.’

Kate shrugged, barely taking her eyes off her tray of tissue samples. ‘I’ve got research to catch up on. And besides, it’s not worth getting on the transporter for, and the designated shuttle pilots are all off duty. I don’t want to put anyone out. I don’t even like beaches that much anyway.’

Deanna came into the office and leaned on the desk. ‘Are you really just going to stay here by yourself? Kate, the sea down there is warm and fragrant and so clear you can see the stones at the bottom when it’s fathoms deep - and you’re trying to tell me you don’t really care?’

‘I have so much to catch up on...’

‘Your research isn’t going to suffer because you took one day off to go to the beach. I already had to give the captain this talk earlier today. I thought you were more sensible than that.’

‘There are still no shuttle pilots on duty,’ Kate said.

Deanna rolled her eyes. ‘Look, I’ll take you down. I’m going anyway, and I could use some piloting hours.’

‘You’re cleared for it?’

‘My orbit-to-surface certification is still current - as long as there’s a shuttle available it should be no problem. Go and get your beach things, I’ll meet you in Shuttlebay Two in ten minutes.’

‘I guess I don’t have much choice,’ Kate grinned.

* * *

Kate watched Deanna run through the preflight checks, her fingers moving smoothly across the console, her mouth a straight line of concentration. The bay doors opened and Kate saw Deanna hold her breath as they skated out and away from the Enterprise, and then let it out again slowly as they began  their descent.

‘Look at that,’ Deanna said.

The planet beneath them was a large golden and blue marble, dotted with swirling white clouds.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she agreed. ‘I wouldn’t exchange the transporter for this.’

‘What is it with you and the transporter, anyway?’ Deanna asked, a shade too casually.

‘Not telling you,’ said Kate. ‘You’re not on duty and neither am I. If you ever order me to your office, maybe then you’ll find out, but not today.’

‘That seems fair,’ said Deanna cheerfully, adjusting their heading slightly so that the sunlight didn’t splash against the viewscreen, then smiling as she checked the status displays..

‘You like flying,’ Kate observed.

‘It was one of my favourite mandatory courses at the Academy,’ said Deanna. ‘I hated it at first, but once I understood what I was doing, once I knew how to control it, I loved it. I managed to keep up all of my piloting certifications on my first couple of postings, but I have a lot less free time on the Enterprise.’

‘There never seems to be time, does there?’ Kate said. ‘I keep telling myself that I should be able to fly myself, and then I wouldn’t be so stuck in situations like this, but there’s always so much going on in Sickbay that I don’t find the time for it. Besides, I find piloting so boring... it’s just pressing buttons until you get somewhere.’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that,’ said Deanna. ‘It’s fun, once you’ve mastered the basics. To be out here, in the vastness of space, and to be able to move through it however you choose... there’s something about it. It reminds me of swimming in the sea.’

Kate snorted. ‘I can’t swim either. Never seemed important to learn.’

‘Would you think anything was important to learn if it wasn’t to do with medicine?’ Deanna asked.

‘A few things,’ said Kate. ‘Probably not much.’

Deanna grinned. ‘I love swimming,’ she said. ‘When I was younger, my father insisted I have lessons - he said he wanted me to be able to take care of myself in the water. My mother didn’t like it much - I don’t know why, she probably thought I should be doing something more suited to a daughter of the Fifth House - but he won her over, and she let me carry on even after he was gone. I even got to the Betazed championships once, although I didn’t win.’

‘Congratulations,’ Kate said, with a wink.

Deanna nudged them nearer to the golden coastline below. ‘Swimming in the sea is the best, though,’ she said. ‘It’s not about going fast or having perfect technique - there’s just no better feeling than knowing you’re in control in the water, that you can go anywhere you want. It makes you feel powerful, safe.’

As the ground approached, she swung the shuttle neatly towards one of the landing pads just up from the beach.

* * *

From her floating sun lounger a little way out from the busy stretch of sand, Kate watched Deanna dive beneath the water and swim down towards the sea bed with strong, flowing movements. She touched the bottom and then came back up, bursting back to the surface with a splash, her hair plastered to her face.

‘I told you,’ she said. ‘You can see all the way down.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ Kate agreed.

Deanna flipped to float on her back, eyes closed, smiling at the sunlight.

‘So, shall I teach you?’ she asked after a minute.

Kate laughed. ‘To swim? I’ve managed without for this long.’

‘It’s never too late to learn a new thing,’ said Deanna. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.’

Kate grinned and took Deanna’s hand to join her in the water.


End file.
